New Internationalized domain names are coming

[Seth Gordon]

Bill Horne wrote:
> 1. Has this change been implemented so that it doesn't break what's out
>    there now?
>    
> 2. What software will I have to change, if any?
> 
> Sorry to be Chicken Little, but not having the Latin alphabet in
> domain names is like doing away with at-signs in email addresses. I
> know it's possible, but it's a tektonic shift in the electronic
> firmament, and I'm feeling dizzy all of a sudden.

There's already a system for encoding arbitrary Unicode characters into 
domain names; e.g., if I type "http://Правда.ru/" into my browser, it 
gets translated to "http://xn--80aafi6cg.ru/".  All browsers are capable 
of supporting this already, but they take various precautions to deal 
with the security holes introduced by the issue.  See the Wikipedia 
"Internationalized domain name" article for some details.

Anyway, it seems that the really new thing here is that ICANN will allow 
for the creation of country-code top level domains (ccTLDs) that use 
non-ASCII characters encoded by this system, alongside the existing 
two-character ccTLDs.  So, for example, the Israel Internet Assocation, 
which currently manages the ".il" TLD, could also apply for ".ישראל".


> 
> Bill
>